October 28, 2024

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The Dodgers won two dramatic, high-profile home games to begin the World Series. That puts enormous pressure on the Yankees as they host Games 3–5 in the Bronx. It also creates incentives for the league office and Fox Sports to root for the AL pennant winners—for now, at least—in hopes of extending the series as far as possible and maximizing fan attention.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]], and David Rumsey [[link removed]]

World Series Game 3 Carries Huge Stakes for Yankees, MLB, and Fox [[link removed]]

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Officially, Major League Baseball and Fox Sports do not take a rooting interest in anything happening on the field. But there is little doubt that the league and the network are enormous Yankees fans for a critical World Series Game 3 on Monday at Yankee Stadium.

The Fall Classic turns east after the Dodgers took a 2–0 series lead at home, a pair of high-profile games marked by strong domestic viewership for both Game 1 [[link removed]] and Game 2 [[link removed]]—and a broader recognizance of the league’s growth [[link removed]], particularly over the last two seasons.

All that momentum, however, stands materially at risk with Game 3. If the Dodgers win and go up 3–0, the Yankees will be in a playoff hole that only one MLB team in history has escaped, the 2004 Red Sox [[link removed]]. Across the NBA, NHL, and MLB, just five teams have overcome a 3–0 deficit in a best-of-seven postseason series. If the Yankees win Game 3, the World Series is guaranteed to go at least five games and the prospects of a deep, competitive series increase substantially—as do the chances of attracting even larger television audiences.

“First two games of the World Series up 63% over last year. Still tracking at a seven-year high,” Fox Sports president of insights and analytics Mike Mulvihill tweeted [[link removed]]on Sunday. “Now just looking for a long series!”

Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is in the lineup for Game 3, leading off in his customary designated hitter slot, after sustaining a partial shoulder dislocation in Game 2 [[link removed]].

The Yankees, however, do have a history of rebounding from 2–0 World Series deficits, including in 1996, 1978, 1958, and 1956, with two of those comebacks coming against the Dodgers.

Game 3, meanwhile, will be part of the only sports equinox of 2024, with every major U.S. men’s pro league in action Monday night. New York viewership will be particularly divided as the NFL’s Giants will be playing a Monday Night Football game at the Steelers concurrently with the Yankees-Dodgers game.

Ticket Market Crash

The potential for a Dodgers sweep, meanwhile, has prompted a marked decline in the ticket resale market for Game 3 and the other scheduled games at Yankee Stadium. Low-end, get-in prices for Monday night that last week stood at about $1,200 each [[link removed]] can now be purchased for about $650.

Ticket aggregator TicketIQ, meanwhile, said the average resale listing price for the three potential games in the Bronx is now $3,485. While still historically high for a World Series, that figure has dropped by 29% from a comparable $4,875 six days ago.

Much like the television situation, a Yankees loss on Monday to set up the chance of a Dodgers sweep would undoubtedly depress the market much further. Before any of that possibly occurs, though, hundreds of Yankees fans began to line up outside of Yankee Stadium more than six hours before Game 3, waiting for the public gates to open.

Over Half of WNBA Coaches Have Been Fired. What’s Happening? [[link removed]]

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

When the Chicago Sky hired Teresa Weatherspoon as head coach last October [[link removed]], it was the beginning of a new chapter. The Hall of Famer was ostensibly replacing James Wade, who led the Sky to a title in 2021 and was one of the final remnants of the championship core.

But last month, the Sky fired Weatherspoon [[link removed]], less than 12 months after she joined the organization. The move shocked the WNBA— including Sky star Angel Reese [[link removed]]—but, alongside the firing of Los Angeles Sparks coach Curt Miller three days earlier, it was just the beginning of a massive coaching shake-up across the league.

Five additional head coaches have been let go over the last month, capped off Sunday by the Indiana Fever firing Christie Sides [[link removed]] and Monday when the Connecticut Sun parted ways with Stephanie White, who will reportedly return to the Fever [[link removed]]. There are seven head coaching vacancies across the WNBA—the Sparks, Sky, Atlanta Dream, Dallas Wings, Washington Mystics, Fever, and Sun—or more than half the league without counting the expansion Golden State Valkyries.

There have also been four GM changes. The Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics moved on from championship-winning executives, the Wings announced in October they are in search of a GM [[link removed]], while the Indiana Fever’s Lin Dunn shifted to a senior advisor role to make way for former Wings COO Amber Cox.

While it’s not uncommon for losing teams to let go of head coaches—and six of the seven vacancies are from teams that finished with a .500 or worse record last season—the volume of firings is an anomaly. The question is: Why are so many WNBA teams firing their head coach now?

Incoming Funds

The delta between the budgets of WNBA teams is noticeable. Organizations like the New York Liberty have billionaire owners willing to make splashy investments, while others are scraping for funding.

However, the new media-rights deal coming in 2026 [[link removed]]—a $2.2 billion deal that could end up more than four times the size of the last deal [[link removed]]—will bring an influx of cash to all teams. There are also expansion fees from three new franchises, and likely a fourth [[link removed]], to add to the pot.

With more money flowing in, teams can now throw bigger contracts at names across professional and collegiate basketball. Last season, only two coaches made at least $1 million per year: the Phoenix Mercury’s Nate Tibbetts ($1.2 million) and the Aces’ Becky Hammon ($1 million). The rest of the coaches made $700,000 per year or less [[link removed].].

A seven-figure salary could attract coaches with high-level collegiate or NBA experience (though Weatherspoon was an assistant with the Pelicans before coaching the Sky). A new WNBA head-coaching market could have salaries that mirror, or even exceed, NBA assistant coach salaries. The NBA’s Suns, who have the same owner as the Mercury, pay more than $2 million annually to Kevin Young, the highest for an assistant coach [[link removed]].

Front Office Changes

A common trend in sports is that new front offices like to hire their own head coach—and not just inherit the one from a previous tenure. Team presidents or GMs can go through the vetting process for potential coaches and be sure that whoever is at the helm is aligned with their vision for the organization.

The Sky are a prime example. Wade played the role of GM and head coach, so both roles were vacant when he left to be an assistant coach for the NBA’s Raptors last July. The Sky ended up hiring Weatherspoon weeks before they announced Jeff Pagliocca as GM [[link removed]].

The same can be said for the Fever, whose new team president, Kelly Krauskopf, and Cox were both hired within the last five weeks before the firing of Sides.

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From Fan to Phenom With Anthony Davis

Front Office Sports and Upper Deck have joined forces to celebrate the nostalgia of sports, shining a spotlight on the childhood inspirations, career influences, and life milestones of the world’s most notable athletes.

NBA superstar Anthony Davis [[link removed]] grew up admiring basketball legends and dreaming of playing in the league—now, he faces off against his childhood idols.

In the latest episode [[link removed]] of Athlete Archives, Davis opens up about his journey from being a young fan to becoming one of the game’s top players, sharing personal stories about the players who shaped his path and how surreal it feels to now sign autographs himself.

Watch the full episode [[link removed]].

Michael Jordan’s NASCAR Team Fights for Title As Lawsuit Remains [[link removed]]

Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

Tyler Reddick won the Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, sealing one of four coveted spots in NASCAR’s championship race—and setting up a potentially bittersweet season finale for the sanctioning body.

Reddick drives for Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing, one of two teams suing NASCAR over antitrust allegations [[link removed]] surrounding the sport’s controversial and complicated team charter agreements (loosely known as NASCAR’s version of franchises).

With the win, Reddick qualified for the Championship 4 and will battle for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series title at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 10. “We needed it,” an enthusiastic Jordan said on pit row [[link removed]] after the race. Reddick previously won the regular-season points championship.

The NASCAR Cup Series Championship will feature a full field, but only the top four are eligible for the season-ending trophy. Joey Logano holds another spot, and two more will be earned this coming weekend.

Getting Awkward?

On one hand, Reddick’s achievement elevates Jordan’s ownership and gives NASCAR a chance to drive mainstream interest in its championship race that may not otherwise be there. On the other hand, Reddick racing in the finale—and potentially winning—could bring about unwanted discussion about the ongoing legal fight.

Last week, NASCAR asked a federal judge in Charlotte to deny a prior request [[link removed]] from 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports to compete in 2025 as non-chartered members, as they were the only two teams not to sign agreement extensions in September.

It would be unprecedented for the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion not to compete in the following season due to a legal dispute between his team and the sanctioning body. While a deadline to sign the charter agreements passed, NASCAR could still allow 23XI and Front Row to sign them.

Jordan wants NASCAR teams to receive more than their current 25% share [[link removed]] of media-rights revenue, as new seven-year, $7.7 billion deals with Fox Sports, NBC Sports, Amazon, TNT Sports, and The CW take full effect next season.

ONE BIG FIG Giving Back

Tepper Sports & Entertainment

$24.5 million

The amount of money raised for Hurricane Helene relief efforts in western North Carolina at a star-studded country music concert Saturday night at Bank of America Stadium. Tepper Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Panthers and Charlotte FC, helped organize the Concert for Carolina Presented by Explore Asheville. The David & Nicole Tepper Foundation had previously donated more than $6 million to hurricane relief efforts.

STATUS REPORT Two Up, Two Down

Miami HEAT/ David Alvarez

Miami Heat ⬇ The team is being criticized for its new statue of Dwyane Wade, which does not closely resemble the face of the three-time NBA champion and franchise icon. Read more about the sculpture [[link removed]] from Front Office Sports reporter A.J. Perez.

Cosm ⬆ The shared-reality venue company announced a deal with the NFL to show prime-time games and select Fox Sports broadcasts for the remainder of the season at its two locations in Dallas and Los Angeles. Cosm already had deals to show [[link removed]] some college football, NBA, NHL, and UFC events.

Manchester United ⬇ The football powerhouse fired manager Erik ten Hag on Monday following an abysmal first nine games of the Premier League season where the club sits at 14th in the table. The club first signed ten Hag in 2022 and, despite an eighth-place finish last season, chose in July to trigger a one-year extension that pushed his deal to 2026. His contract was reportedly for around $8.75 million per year [[link removed]].

Las Vegas ⬆ Allegiant Stadium will host Duke, Kansas, Arizona, and Indiana for a Hall of Fame Series in 2027 [[link removed]], part of a five-year agreement for the city to host the college basketball season openers. The stadium will also be the site of the end of the season, as the home of the NFL’s Raiders will host the 2028 NCAA Final Four.

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Automate press conferences: Every in-game reference, quotable moment, and important topic automatically turns into short-form content and is tagged with metadata

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Automate archival footage: Give greater context to content automatically by pulling in highlights from the past so fans can see related content and how it applies to today’s story

Fuel the fandom with around-the-game automation. Learn more [[link removed]].

Conversation Starters Vanderbilt spent $13 million on upgrades for its golf houses and just unveiled the finished product. Check it out [[link removed]]. Monday is a sports equinox [[link removed]?], which is when all five major men’s pro sports leagues play on the same day. It is just the 31st time in history and the only one this year. John Calipari told Mike Krzyzewski that he treats college athletes “like pros” in the NCAA’s NIL era. Watch it here [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks The Dwyane Wade Sculptor Explains Himself [[link removed]]by A.J. Perez [[link removed]]Wade was closely involved with the artists in the creation of the statue. Kyle Busch Disappointed to Be Left Out of NASCAR’s Netflix Series Yet Again [[link removed]]by David Rumsey [[link removed]]“They didn’t ask me,” Busch said in an interview with Front Office Sports. Unrivaled Lands Caitlin Clark’s Pal With Three Spots Remaining [[link removed]]by Dennis Young [[link removed]]The upstart league announced its deal with Kate Martin on Monday. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Written by Eric Fisher [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]] Edited by Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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